Elite team information

Elite Teams train between 4-6 hours per week.

﻿tryouts for elite teams are held in November every year, we recommend anyone wanting to trial for an elite team should have completed a season of CheerSport first to be able to understand the requirements of an elite team.

This information is a summarised version of the Elite handbook which will be available when teams are announced.

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to develop young people who are not only successful in cheerleading but also in life.

COMPETITIVE CHEERLEADING

Competitive Cheerleading is not your rugby or basketball cheerleading. Your child will learn how to prepare their mind and body to progress their skill level throughout the competition season. We offer a range of teams from beginner level 1 restricted to our New Zealand representative level 5 teams. There are so many opportunities for success! Participants range in age from as young as 5 years old to our 18+ adult athletes. We are committed to finding a team suitable for your athlete no matter what their level.

SAFETY FIRST

Cheerleading skills should be taught in a safe and fun environment. We practice ‘perfection before progression’ which means that no athlete will be asked to move on to a skill before they are ready. We put our athletes’ safety above all else and encourage them to progress at their own pace.

Our coaches are trained and certified by the New Zealand Cheerleading Association and the International Cheer Union in coaching fundamentals. Retraining is undertaken annually with further professional development opportunities being provided throughout the season.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Attendance at all trainings, extra-trainings, competitions and performances is mandatory. Missing any team event for the following reasons is not acceptable:

Social Events

Holidays

Other sports or co-curricular

School/home work (athletes must learn to manage their time effectively)

Injury (save for serious injury)

Mild/Non-contagious sickness

Overtiredness

Other appointments (save for specialist/hospital appointments)

Punishment for behavior

Lack of transportation

Please advise us in advance of any planned events such as school camps, family holidays. If these fall close to competition we need to know as we may require a fill in for that particular event.

Missing practice for any of the above reasons will be treated as an unapproved absence. An unapproved absence may result in your child’s position in their routine being changed to minimize the impact on your team.

TEAM PLACEMENTS

Team placements are an exciting time of year when new and current competition team members are placed on their team for the upcoming season. Our experienced staff take great care to create the best teams possible at every All Star location.

Attend the appropriate session time based on your child’s cheerleading age. This is your child’s age as at 31 December 2019.

Wear shorts, t-shirt, hair tied back off of the face and cheer shoes or similar.

A member or members of a team placement panel will assess your child’s skill level. Your child will be asked to demonstrate, tumbling, jumps and dance specific to their level.

Teams will be formed based off of the age groups, execution and skill level demonstrated by the children seeking placement at your location.

Placement results together with the date you will begin training in your new team will be released via the All Star Cheerleaders Facebook page within 7 days.

DOES EVERYONE MAKE A TEAM?

We call this process team placements rather than ‘tryouts’ because every child who attends a placement session will be placed on a team!

HOW IS MY CHILD’S TEAM PLACEMENT DETERMINED?

Team placements can be a difficult time for athletes as they inevitably result in change. No athlete will be passed over due to favouritism or personal reasons. An athlete’s position on a certain team will largely be determined by tumble and stunting ability with reference to the IASF level system (refer to table in the athlete handbook). The general attitude, commitment and dedication of the athlete will also be considered. Sometimes, an exception to the minimum tumble requirement may be made if the team is short of a certain stunting position. (e.g. There is a lack of level 3 bases so a base with level 2 tumble skills may be placed on that team).

Please be aware that team placements are a coaching decision based on ability, attitude and team make-up. We do NOT take into consideration individual cheerleader or parent team preferences.

PROGRESSION

After years of experience we have learnt that it is not in the best interests of our athletes to fast track their cheerleading careers. We hope all our athletes will stay in the sport for many years, perhaps as long as some of our Team NZ Cheerleaders whose average age is 18 years!

We have learnt the more time spent at each level makes our cheerleaders stronger physically and mentally. We want our cheerleaders to enjoy their time with us and we have found that moving athletes too soon can result in cheerleaders being burnt out from the pressure.

There are always new skills to be learnt at each level. The complexity of skills and choreography required to be competitive at each level is constantly rising. For cheerleaders this means new challenges regardless of the length of time they spend at any one level.

RESULTS

Team placement results will be released within the seven days following your team placement date. Results will be posted on the Infinity Facebook page. Should you have a concern in regards to your result please wait 24 hours before contacting your coach. We will be happy to discuss your concerns with you after this time.

These teams are only preliminary teams until we finish the skills camp in January, we may need to make changes to your team if we think you have been placed at the wrong level or age group. If you feel at this time in January, that you have been placed in the wrong level team or wish to move back to Rec (pre elite) please speak with either Sheri or Bryan. We would much rather have you enjoying your year on a team more your level than have a cheerleader quit altogether.

FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS

2019 fees are still being calculated, however you can expect the following based on 2018 season choreography/camp/music fee of around $350-450 depending on the level team and the camp you will be attending. This fee also includes early-bird deposits on competition entries and is non-refundable.

Training gear pack around $150

Term fees are around $350-450 per term depending on the team and the number of hours training per week, term fees also include the balance of competition entries and will be dependent on the number of one and two day competitions each team attends.

We allow payments of term fees by credit card, eftpos, and bank deposit. You may set up an automatic payment weekly or fortnightly to cover your fees, however these must be calculated in advance so all 2019 fees are paid before the 1st November 2019.

OVERSEAS TRAVEL

In 2019 we will have our pre-selected team attending the 2019 Global Games in Hawaii. Bids for the 2021 games will be given out over the course of the 2019 season. We will select teams to attend this competition closer to the time. All members of the 2019 Global Games teams are required to be part of a 2019 elite team to be eligible to travel and must intend to see out the full season as there will be penalties for breaking the elite contract.

We do not intend to take any other teams overseas in 2019 and will plan for some teams to attend an Australian competition in 2020.

Elite teams will compete in Auckland, Tauranga and potentially Wellington.